


slowly, then all at once

by kitty_pryde_bi_pride



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Self-Discovery, Unrequited Love, oh my god they were roommates, plot twist: it's not, that might be a bit dramatic but you get the vibe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 19,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28112145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitty_pryde_bi_pride/pseuds/kitty_pryde_bi_pride
Summary: Chloe wasn't expecting to spend her holiday season kicked out of her father's hotel, in need of a place to stay- she also wasn't expecting to end up staying with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, an old rival from school.She wasn't expecting a lot of things, to be honest, much less find herself slowly falling for her accidental roommate.But hey- the holidays are about wishes coming true, even if she herself didn't know how badly she needed this.
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chloé Bourgeois/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 162
Kudos: 261





	1. family

Chloe always knew her father was a spineless twat, but she thought he cared about her at least a little. Enough to take her side over her mom’s in a fight.

But that woman pops into Paris for the first time in nearly a decade, complains over how Chloe’s wasting her life and is useless to their legacy without proper skill-building (never mind that Chloe’s known how to balance books since middle school, never mind that Chloe’s been equipped as a leader and master manipulator since well before then, never mind that her mother hasn’t been here to help with any part of their lives since she just left them behind).

Of course, she can’t show her surprise – or hurt, an even more humiliating emotion to show her parents – and so she packs her things quickly, stuffing everything essential into a few bags before vacating the hotel she’s lived in her entire life.

She’s always been taught that family was meaningless, that true bonds are bought or earned, and she won’t look back while she walks away. She’s 23 and a Bourgeois, she’s determined that this loss will be nothing to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on prompts from creativepromptsforwriting on tumblr!


	2. hot chocolate

“So you see, I need to stay at your place for a while,” Chloe says grinning over her steaming cup of hot cocoa. “Don’t worry, Sabrina, it won’t be a big deal.”

Her old friend frowns and studies her carefully, not answering. She still hasn’t touched the mug she fixed for herself. Chloe’s careful not to let her confident attitude waver, even for a moment- she can’t show how badly she needs this.

Finally, Sabrina sighs. “Look, Chlo, it’s not that I don’t want to help you-”

“Then what’s the problem?” Chloe challenges with a raised brow. “I’ll stay out of your way and be out of there as soon as I can, it’ll be just for a short while.”

“Aren’t you cut off from your dad?” Sabrina fires back before catching herself. Chloe prides herself on not flinching. “That was uncalled for, I’m sorry. It’s just- I don’t have room for another long-term guest, and I don’t have the money to support you like that.”

Chloe scoffs, shaking off the rejection easily. “Who on earth do you have staying with you that’s more important than me?”

Sabrina blinks a few times, quickly, then laughs weakly. “We meet up like this once a week, at minimum, and talk for a few hours each time- and you mean to tell me you don’t even know who I’m living with?” Chloe doesn’t answer and Sabrina finishes her drink quickly. “I’m really sorry, Chlo, about your situation. But you’re not staying with me.”

“Fine, whatever,” Chloe hisses, getting up from her seat. “Plenty of people will be more than happy to take me in. See you later, friend.”

“I’m living with Max, we’ve been together 8 months, not that you’d care!” Sabrina yells while Chloe stalks towards the door- she doesn’t look back.


	3. apron

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in all of her flour-smudged and work-frazzled glory, mid-shift at the family bakery she now runs herself, stands in open-mouthed shock at Chloe’s offer.

“You- you can’t be serious,” she manages slowly. “Is this a trap?”

At least she's handling it better than Kim, who practically tried to body block her from his station at the register when she tried to get to the back. 

Chloe scowls, but holds her breath. “It’s not a trap. It’s a request.”

“B- but,” Marinette starts, but Chloe cuts her off by grabbing her hand tightly.

“Please,” she says softly, looking carefully into her long-time rival’s eyes. “Nobody else would take me in. I’m desperate.”

Marinette bites her lip, then looks away in frustration. “Fine. You’re sleeping on the couch, though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters should start being longer after this one- maybe the one after
> 
> comments/kudos mean a lot!! i hope you enjoy and let me know what you think
> 
> have a lovely day :)


	4. fuzzy socks

The first thing Chloe notices after moving in is Marinette’s penchant for fuzzy socks. Every day, when she returns from work, Marinette immediately dons a pair and spends the rest of the night slipping and sliding across the hardwood floors. Given the girl’s clumsiness and how often she bumps into counters and furniture, Chloe’s honestly surprised she doesn’t see more bruises littering Marinette’s arms.

It’s a bit ridiculous how cute it is, in spite of all that. Marinette’s clearly made quite a few of them herself, all custom colors with her favorite soft pink and several superhero-themed additions- mainly Chat Noir themed, to Chloe’s surprise. She hadn’t expected Marinette to be a fangirl.

Chloe wouldn’t be shocked if Marinette liked to hand them out for gifts to friends for the holidays, though she doubts she’ll get one to find out.

They’re practical for the cold, Chloe’s fairly certain, but she can’t help but be distracted by them- it’s obnoxious, really. She decides she’ll stop looking.

(She doesn’t succeed, at all, but she always manages to look away before Marinette notices.)


	5. wrapping paper

Marinette always seems to be in motion, even when – especially when – she’s home from work. Chloe watches her do little tasks from her own perch on the couch Marinette’s made up for her, where she’s taken up near permanent residence.

The apartment is smaller than Chloe’s used to, with a single bed and bathroom attached to a thoroughly-furnished living room, a large closet, and – the nicest part of the place – a well-stocked kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Chloe finally asks, leaning over to see Marinette sitting in the middle of a chaotic pile of colorful socks, baggies of chocolate chip cookies, and festive wrapping paper. It’s a few weeks before Christmas still, way too early to be packaging baked goods.

Marinette looks up and winces in embarrassment. “Kim offered to close up the shop for me, so I'm trying to wrap up presents for this year’s holiday celebration.” Chloe stares in confusion and Marinette shrugs dismissively. “I’m guessing you’re not going like usual, since you haven’t mentioned it?”

“What holiday celebration?” Chloe finally asks, tentatively with enough bravado as she can muster.

Marinette’s head snaps up and she frowns. “The yearly one, the whole class gets together, minus you, Ivan, Juleka and Rose, usually. Everyone gets invited, but they’re usually busy this time of year and you’ve never responded…”

Chloe hopes her glare gets the message across effectively. “I haven’t ever received an invitation.”

“Huh,” Marinette answers, more than a little confused. “I know Alya sends out invitations every year- Oh. Okay, she’s definitely just been skipping your invite.” She hesitates, then stands up and walks over to Chloe’s makeshift bed. “There’s a few days till the party, there’s time to get presents still.”

“Apparently, I’m not invited,” Chloe mutters, lying back down. “Best not to cause a fight now.”

Marinette snorts, unpretty but genuine and endearing, and Chloe frowns at her. “You can come as my plus one. Alya can fight me, if she wants to argue about it.” Marinette sits on the edge of the couch cushion and pokes at Chloe’s side. “Besides, I’m not letting you sit around for another couple of days. You need to get up and do something.”


	6. fairy lights

A loud bang in the middle of the night – at 2:36am she realizes with a grimace, far too early to be up – wakes Chloe and she rolls off the couch as quietly as possible. It came from Marinette’s room, and Chloe doesn’t think twice before sneaking over and – after listening at the door and hearing nothing more – breaking down the door with a yell.

She wasn’t Queen B for nothing, all those years ago.

“Who’s there- Oh, what the hell?” She trails off, staring confusedly at Marinette, who’s lying sprawled out across the ground beneath her open window, groaning in pain. The girl looks up at Chloe, slowly, then laughs weakly and slowly picks herself up- obviously favoring her right side.

Chloe slowly notices that Marinette’s in her pajamas – a tank top and sleep shorts with striped fuzzy socks, effortlessly adorable seems to be this girl's baseline – and she feels her face go hot.

Oblivious, Marinette gestures at the clearly untouched box of holiday lights sitting in the open closet across her room and answers in a tired, scratchy voice, “I was trying to put those up and fell.”

Alright, fine, Chloe thinks, rolling her eyes. Keep your secrets. “Do you…want some help with those?”

Marinette pushes herself to her feet, slowly, and Chloe has to push down the sudden urge to help her up. “Sounds like fun!”

(Chloe thinks one sleepless night is more than worth the smile on that lights up Marinette’s face after she offered to help.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to be a daily updating thing...and then my laptop broke down and i had to take it in to get fixed!! just got it back today
> 
> i have enough pre-written that i can do double updates until i'm back on schedule :)
> 
> enjoy! let me know what you think and have an awesome day


	7. christmas market

“How much could chocolates possibly cost, $30?” Chloe asks, slowly stepping foot into a candy store just a short walk from Marinette’s apartment.

“What- What, no, Chloe, they’re really not,” Marinette groans in defeat and annoyance. “Chocolates are like, $5, for the decently fancy stuff. Have you ever gone holiday shopping before?”

Chloe sniffs and holds her head high. “No. My personal butler, Jean, has always taken care of necessary gifts. Presents for my father, like gold-encrusted nameplates, or my mother, with the latest lines of Gabriel.” She walks past the display cases, trailing Marinette slowly – she’s walking tensely, still limping from whatever weirdness happened the night before, not that Chloe pays attention – and wrinkles her nose at the smudged glass and lackluster displays.

“Did any of them ever like those gifts?” Marinette asks curiously, and Chloe flips her ponytail over her shoulder.

“Obviously. I’d never get them something from a place like this- Hey, what are you doing?” She bursts out as Marinette grabs her arm and abruptly tugs her out of the shop. She yanks her arm back as soon as they’re standing back outside in the cold and stomps her foot. “What the hell, Marinette?”

The girl is glaring back at her with an uncharacteristic look of disappointment. “What the hell, Chloe?” She fires back. “I take you Christmas shopping, on my own dime, to bring you to a party that you apparently weren’t even invited to- and you have the nerve to criticize this local chocolate store? While we’re in it? I can’t believe this, Chloe. You’re an adult, act like it.” Marinette’s breathing hard, her cheeks flushed, and Chloe can feel her own face burning in embarrassment- at least they’re shopping early, while the streets are largely empty.

“You have no right to judge me, Dupain-Cheng. I’ve been having the worst few days of my life, and I do not need this right now.” Chloe pokes Marinette in the shoulder, hard, and she feels a rush of satisfaction when the smaller girl stumbles back. “Don’t act so high and mighty just because you’re the one taking me in- I know how much you love playing the good guy.”

“You think you’re the only one having a rough time?” Marinette asks angrily, then takes a deep breath and visibly calms herself. “Playing the good guy? Is that really what you think I’ve been doing?” She asks quietly. Chloe opens her mouth to retort, but Marinette shakes her head. “Just- just wait outside, alright?”

She turns on her heel and heads back into the shop, and Chloe can feel the warmth emanating from it- she can hear Marinette’s harried apologies and conversation with the shop’s owners, apparently friends of hers.

Marinette’s fast and Chloe isn’t even that cold by the time she makes her way back outside, several large bags in hand. “Let’s go back home,” she mutters, brushing past Chloe. “I need to go for a run.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so...chloe was a little out of line, marinette had a weirdly short fuse, and things escalated
> 
> uh oh
> 
> enjoy and have a lovely weekend!


	8. baking

Chloe hasn’t felt this bad about something in a while, and she’s not sure what to do about it- she hasn’t felt the need to apologize in a long time.

She thinks through as many examples of gift giving as she can – countless handmade gifts from Sabrina, expensive presents from her mother, sentimental things from her father – and decides the best, most memorable gifts came from a combination of thoughtfulness about what she would enjoy, and genuine time and effort being put into them. It’ll have to be something inexpensive, as Chloe currently has no money, and something simple, as crafts have never been her forte.

She racks her brain over Marinette, thinking over what she thinks the other girl would like- the intent behind the gift seems more important than the actual execution. And given that their fight was over Chloe’s high and mighty attitude, it must be something that shows she’s willing to get her hands dirty.

Her own belongings are lackluster, given she had little time to grab anything before being forced to leave, so there’s nothing of her own she can bring to the table.

Chloe wanders through the common rooms, poking around the living room until she makes her way into the kitchen- and that just might be perfect.

Baking is the perfect way to show she’s thought of Marinette’s interests, and that she put effort into creating something for the other girl- and, sure enough, there’s plenty of sugar, butter, and flour to host a small bakery out of the apartment.

She finds a basic cookie recipe on her phone and gets to mixing, quickly moving through prep and then putting the cookies in the oven. It’s been a little over an hour, so Marinette should be back right around when the cookies come out- she usually stays out for most of the night whenever she goes on a run.

True to form, Marinette quietly returns right when the cookies are coming out. Chloe turns, oven mitts still on, and waves with a hopeful smile on her face. Marinette sniffs the air experimentally, then turns towards the kitchen in surprise.

“You baked these for me?” Marinette asks, her cheeks turning red, and Chloe starts to worry she’s been out in the cold too long.

“Yeah,” she answers, pulling Marinette inside towards the warm kitchen. “Surprise?”

They glance around the previously pristine kitchen now in disarray, and Marinette snorts endearingly. “You didn’t have to do this for me,” she says, taking a bite of a cookie. Her eyes bulge for a second and she coughs slightly, then she plasters on a bright smile and pulls Chloe into a hug. “Thank you, they’re amazing.”

“Yes, well, I couldn’t have you mad at me,” Chloe responds proudly, grabbing for a cookie of her own.

Marinette blinks and tries to grab it from Chloe, but she laughs and steps away. “No, wait, Chloe, don’t eat-” Chloe takes a big bite before she can be stopped and spits it out on the ground immediately. “-that,” Marinette finishes weakly.

“Ugh,” she groans, grabbing for a glass of water. “That tastes…not right.”

“Sorry, yeah,” Marinette says sheepishly. “I think you switched the salt and sugar- it’s a weirdly common rookie mistake.”

Chloe gargles the water, then spits into the sink. “Why’d you eat it though?”

The red on Marinette’s face gets deeper, and now Chloe’s legitimately concerned the other girl is in danger of frostbite. “I don’t know…you made them for me. It was very kind of you.”


	9. music

Armed with her nicest jacket and best boots, Chloe walks into the party with all the confidence of someone invited- that is to say, with a great deal of false bravado and purposeful ignorance about the people staring at her.

She sets down the bag of chocolates she and Marinette worked so hard for and tries to fight a reaction to the disbelieving and annoyed looks sent her way.

Marinette walks beside her, letting Chloe set the pace, and waves at everyone they pass with a glowing smile, wisely not saying anything when Chloe studiously ignores a shocked Sabrina standing next to her apparent long-term boyfriend, Max. She stays with Chloe until they get to Rose and Juleka – apparently this is the first year in a while Kitty Section hasn’t toured over Christmas – and leaves her with two of the kindest and least confrontational people from their class.

Chloe watches anxiously as her only sure ally here leaves her side before her attention is diverted back to Rose and Juleka.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Juleka mutters, blunt as ever, and Chloe crosses her arms to hide a lack of response. No one is even touching the chocolates and she resolves to just take them home and eat them herself.

“But we’re so excited to see you here now!” Rose cuts in, and honestly? Thank goodness for Rose and her unfailing niceness. “So, tell us the truth- how long have you and Mari been an item?”

“Uh- what?” Chloe says, not in the least bit graceful, and Juleka cringes on her behalf. “What do you mean by item?”

“Oh, sorry- I just assumed,” Rose says anxiously, looking truly apologetic. “With you arriving here and being so close. When Mari announced a mysterious plus one, we all assumed it was a date- and then you showed up, so-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Chloe growls, face beet red. “There’s nothing going on though, we’ve just been living together.”

Juleka raises a dubious eyebrow and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, alright, good for you two.”

Chloe buries her head in her hands fruitlessly and tries to cool herself off. “We’re really not together, for the record.”

“But you’d be a good couple,” Juleka cuts in, smirking.

“Oh, a secret relationship could be so cute!” Rose squeals and several eyes turn to look at their group in confusion. “And you two would look so good together.”

“I’m going to get some punch,” Chloe forces out, heading away from the two gossips and once again ignoring the stares of her former classmates. Half the room seems to have heard Rose’s declaration, and Chloe’s glad for once that Marinette can be painfully oblivious.

(And if she glances over at Marinette and sees her laughing deeply, body bent in half as she leans on Alya to steady herself, imagining if she laughed at one of Chloe’s jokes that way? Then that’s no one’s business but her own.)


	10. starry night

“Hey, Marinette?” Chloe calls out from the couch, lying on her back while scrolling through her phone. “Have you seen the weather? It’s supposed to be nice out, and I’ve heard the stars are really beautiful tonight.”

“Oh, yeah?” Marinette calls from the other room. “That’s fantastic, I’ll be sure to check it out. Thanks for the heads up!”

Chloe hesitates, not used to asking twice for anything, but summons her courage and calls out again. “Want to go look at it with me?”

“Oh, I totally would, but I’ve already got plans with somebody. You should go watch it from the park or something!” She says and Chloe feels a rush of embarrassment for even trying.

“It’s alright if I have a friend over tonight, right?” Marinette asks as she finishes tying her hair into a French braid behind her back. She’s dressed up, at least more than the post-work dirty jeans-t-shirt combo and exercise clothes Chloe usually sees her in around the apartment, wearing a pretty red dress she clearly designed herself.

Chloe looks away quickly while she feels her face get hot and throat get dry. She's never really asked Marinette if she was single, just assumed- there's something nasty coiling in her gut at the idea of Marinette going on a date, and Chloe's not sure why. “Uh, that’s fine,” she manages, clearing her throat, suddenly self-conscious of her two-day-old sweatpants and hoodie combo. “Who’s coming over again?” She adds, her voice stronger this time.

“Oh, do you remember that girl Adrien was friends with back in school, Kagami?” Marinette says absentmindedly, pulling on ballet flats- Chloe is honestly a little surprised that Marinette doesn’t go bright red at the very mention of his name, even all these years later. “We kept in touch pretty well, there’s a group thing we have to coordinate a lot.”

“So…you two talk a lot?” Chloe hedges. There’s something ugly in her chest as she frowns up at Marinette, but she’s not sure what it is- she doesn’t think it’s something she’s felt very often before.

Marinette finally looks back at her and grins, oblivious as always. “Yup! She’s honestly probably one of my best friends, she’s been such a rock the last couple years.”

Chloe’s about to ask how exactly Kagami’s been a rock – and maybe how she herself can step in – when there’s a crisp knock on the door and Marinette practically skips to open it.

“Kagami, you’re here!” She squeals, pulling the quieter girl in for a hug. “I’ve got everything ready; I baked a casserole and snickerdoodles! We can go up on the roof for some privacy.” She winks and starts pulling her up onto the roof.

The girl is vaguely recognizable as a periphery presence from Chloe’s teen years, and she notes that she’s put together as ever in a well-fitted pantsuit and heel combo. Again, Chloe tries to sit with confidence despite her own casual attire.

“Well, Mari, I’m not shocked by the casserole,” Kagami begins, rolling her eyes fondly and letting herself get dragged along haphazardly. “All you know how to do is bake, even for dinner.”

Marinette snorts at the stilted – and frankly, unfunny, in Chloe’s humble opinion – joke and they disappear onto the balcony, out of Chloe’s sight, leaving her alone in the starless apartment. She can hear them laughing distantly and turns up music on her phone to tune it out- this really shouldn’t be bothering her this much, but she doesn’t like it all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another double update to make up for the days i missed :)
> 
> comments and kudos mean a lot!! i appreciate knowing what people think
> 
> have a lovely night and happy holidays


	11. sleigh ride

Hawkmoth has been a thing since Chloe’s early teen years and now she barely has the energy to react when the news reports a new attack- all of Paris seems more than done with the whole thing, to be honest. As such, she’s barely paying attention as some holiday-themed akuma, complete with a red and white sleigh and a violent glowing reindeer, terrorizes the Eiffel Tower and surrounding buildings.

She’s vaguely aware when the heroes show up to join the fight – an impressive showing with Ladybug, Ryuko, King Monkey, and Pegasus all appearing at once – and tunes in nervously when she sees Ladybug get thrown against the tower with enough force to dent the metal support beams.

Super-powered or not, that’s got to hurt.

The four of them are so in-sync that Chloe genuinely doesn’t feel a bit of the need to get involved she once had- her Queen B days are long behind her. Ryuko is the aggressor, using elemental attacks to press forward, pushing the akuma into a wall and away from civilians, while Pegasus coordinates with Ladybug and King Monkey to get them close enough to the akuma to incapacitate and stop it.

If anyone in Paris doubted Ladybug’s skills at first, no one judges her after the entire original team – Chat Noir, Carapace, Rena Rouge, and Chloe as Queen B – ditched her without warning, leaving her to scramble to pick an all-new group and succeeding beyond expectation.

Chloe stays detached from the fight, but there’s a moment where she thinks like something’s gone terribly, horribly wrong. She can hear her heart pounding in her chest and a second later, the feelings gone in an instant and she couldn’t pinpoint what the disturbance was- maybe something to do with the odd sense of déjà vu that encompasses her while Ladybug executes a well-timed move, putting the heroine in range of the akuma’s reindeer to snap the antler, breaking Hawkmoth’s hold on the poor guy who just wanted people to respect the animal’s space.

Paris is so desensitized to the whole situation that the dude just shrugs it off and lets Pegasus and King Monkey walk him back over to his job giving tourist-y sleigh rides through the park without question.

The newscast ends as the heroes presumably make their ways home and so Chloe’s completely caught off guard when she hears a familiar banging sound from Marinette’s room. She knows it’s probably nothing, but thinks maybe she’ll get the chance to hang out like the last time she ducked in.

“Hey, Marinette, you okay in here...?” Chloe trails off, staring blankly in shock, as she sees Luka – someone she just barely recognizes as Juleka’s older brother and, with more than a hint of jealousy, remembers as someone Marinette had a crush on for part of their school years – ducking through the balcony window with an unconscious Marinette in his arms.

Chloe takes in the labored way Marinette is breathing, the unnatural stillness of her body, and glares up at Luka.

“What the hell is this?” She snaps- and honestly, that’s much nicer than this situation warrants.

Luka laughs awkwardly and opens his mouth to speak – and Chloe honestly would like to hear whatever lie he’s about to try to spin – when an unsettling familiar red plushy flies out of Marinette’s shirt and faces Luka. Chloe remembers the bad hit Ladybug took and her stomach drops.

“We don’t have time for this,” it commands in an authoritatively squeaky tone. “Marinette needs to rest, and there is no way I’m letting you explain without her.”

Luka nods and gently sets the girl done in her bed, studiously avoiding eye contact with Chloe- who is just beyond knowing what on earth she should do in this situation. He finally turns back to her and smiles weakly. “Surprise?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yup! hawkmoth is a thing in this universe
> 
> this starts the next section of the story- chloe's noticed a few weird things but hadn't connected the dots to "my roommate and crush is a superhero"
> 
> enjoy! let me know what you think or if you have any thoughts about the heroes


	12. miracle

“So…you’re Ladybug?” Chloe asks nervously, lying face-up on the floor with her eyes closed. Next to her, Marinette nods slowly. “That’s…cool.”

Marinette shudders and without even looking, Chloe can feel the pure panic she seems to be radiating- there’s no need for it, Chloe’s not mad. She’s honestly just relieved that Marinette woke up this soon after taking some hard hits.

Still, they fall into an uncomfortable silence and Chloe is not close enough yet to this girl for this to be okay- something, anything she says must be better than this. “Did you know I had a huge crush on Ladybug when we were in school?” She asks and is immediately flushed with regret- this can’t get any worse.

“Yes,” Marinette, and Chloe groans- and seriously, how is this going so wrong? This is her nightmare.

“Hey, uh, remember when I used to be Queen B and got akumatized and tried to kill you?” She tries to laugh, weakly, and honestly, she wishes she could just sink into the floor right about now.

Marinette sits up and frowns at her- Chloe’s never seen the perpetually and forcefully upbeat girl look so exhausted. “What’s your point?”

“Nothing,” she says, grinning in her friend’s direction. “I just wanted to say…I promise I won’t tell anybody. It didn’t end up great, but you trusted me just a little back then and…you can trust me now.”

Marinette grabs her hand and squeezes it, tightly. “I know,” she answers with a quiet smile. “I know I can count on you.” It’s ridiculous how she always seems to know just the right thing to say.

They’ll have to talk about this for real, and soon, but for now? Chloe suddenly feels like her heart is about to burst out of her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm using the miracle prompt for this chapter cuz...chloe finds out mari is the miraculous ladybug
> 
> heheh heheh heheh
> 
> *holds for laughter*
> 
> okay anyways have a lovely day and enjoy :)


	13. wishes

“I’m sorry I kept this all a secret.”

It’s abrupt, in the middle of a late-night dinner Marinette fixed after returning home late once again, and Chloe glances up drily from her bowl of soup. “Oh?” She says noncommittally, eyebrow carefully raised. Things have been tense ever since the ‘big reveal’ and Chloe’s long since decided she won’t be the one to initiate this much needed conversation. “What for?”

“I-” Marinette stops and stumbles immediately, clutching her spoon tightly. “It’s not that- that I don’t trust you. I know you wouldn’t tell anyone, not now. I just haven’t told anyone that wasn’t part of it before- keeping it as secret as possible isn’t really optional.”

Chloe stares at her across the table quizzically. “That all sounds perfectly reasonable, to be honest. I’m not sure why you’re apologizing?”

She bites her lip and finally releases her death grip on her spoon, instead pulling her hand harshly through her hair and pulling out the loose hair ties. “I’m sorry that I let you stay here in a potentially dangerous situation without knowing the risk. I- I’m sorry that I’ve lied to you about what I do at night. And I’m sorry I was so awful to you as Ladybug back in school. I wish I could’ve done so many things better.”

Chloe blinks twice, slowly – she hadn’t been expecting recognition from issues those old – then sets her bowl to the side and meets Marinette’s eye. “Don’t worry about it,” she replies lightly.

Marinette’s eyes well with tears and she sniffles- holding back anything from actually falling, to the ardent relief of Chloe’s mental health. “Thank you, Chlo, I appreciate it,” she manages weakly, before continuing. “Is there anything you want to know?”

There’s a lot of things she could ask right now – what exactly Marinette’s role has been, why her miraculous cure doesn’t seem to work on herself, how she balances this with running a full-time bakery mostly largely alone – but there’s only one question relevant to herself, that she feels like she deserves to know.

“What happened to the old team?” Chloe asks bluntly. “I know why you got rid of me – I’m assuming you’ve still got that Miraculous sitting around somewhere; we’ll talk about that later – but no one in Paris really understood the others. I mean, the way Chat Noir left-”

Something seems to click for Marinette and she pushes back her anxiety to sit up straighter- there’s a bit of fire and anger in her eyes that seems every bit Ladybug. “You mean when he and I got into a very public, very physical fight during a patrol, and he was never seen again?” Chloe’s eyes go wide and Marinette sighs. “I had…a hunch about who Hawkmoth was, and I was too aggressive in wanting to deal with it. He reminded me that accusations like that shouldn’t be made without certain proof…and he revealed his identity. He gave me his Miraculous during that same conversation, and we haven’t really spoken since- he still doesn’t know who I am.”

Chloe schools her expression into something hopefully better than the undignified surprise and curiosity – this is really not the time to be asking after the hero’s identity, however much she wants to know – she’s sure she’s broadcasting, and clears her throat. “Uh. Yikes.”

“Yup,” Marinette smirks, popping the p. “Rena and Carapace left for different reasons- they were moving into different stages in their lives, and I encouraged them to lean into that. They wanted to move on, and I let them. They weren’t bound to this job.”

“And you are?” Chloe asks, fairly sure she already knows the answer.

“Correct,” she answers. “Through the end of school, the former Guardian – an old man in charge of keeping and protecting the Miraculous – trained me. When I turned 18, he entrusted them to me and left.”

And Chloe thought she had been stressed with her life. “How did you get your new team?”

A genuine smile flashes across Marinette’s face, and Chloe can tell she’s close with this group. “Well, I had to pick everyone myself- and let me tell you, it was tough. I recruited Ryuko first; she’s absolutely my right-hand man. I don’t think I’d be alive today without her. She’s a genius fighter and is the most determined person I’ve ever met-”

“I don’t need to know this girl’s whole life story,” Chloe mutters, jaw tight. She watches Marinette’s face fall and tries to soften her tone. “How about the other members?”

“Well,” she starts off more hesitantly. “Next I managed to recruit Viperion- that’s Luka, you met him the other day.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard about him?” Chloe asks.

“Oh, we keep him very secret, we don’t want Hawkmoth to know he’s in play. His power is like a mini-reset button, so we keep him behind the scenes of fights. He helps me strategize- Luka, Ryuko and I are ridiculously tight.” She finishes with a laugh.

Chloe wonders how Marinette keeps these friends so hidden, and wonders if she’s met them before. “Pegasus and King Monkey?”

“Both friends of mine as well,” she says fondly. “I see Monkey a lot and it was easier to let him in than keep things secret- we can cover for each other a lot better, this way. Pegasus is best friends with him. Ryuko and Luka – all four of them, realistically – get busy from time to time, so this way there’s almost always someone to help me out with the akuma.”

Chloe frowns. “How many times did you have to fight alone?”

“It barely ever happens anymore,” Marinette hedges, looking down. “I can handle things pretty well regardless, it’s just nice to have the support.”

“I’ll bet,” Chloe laughs lightly before standing and stepping towards Marinette – dinner long forgotten on the table – then pulling the smaller girl in for a hug. “Do you want to know what I think?”

Marinette looks up at her, eyes big as she sees how close Chloe’s gotten. “What?” she breathes, and it’s practically a whisper.

Chloe buries her face in Marinette’s neck and holds her tighter until she feels Marinette relax into her arms. “I wish that someone had been there to support you. And- I hope you know that a lot of people care about you, so much. I care about you so much.”

Marinette sniffles again, tears that seem long ignored finally falling, and hugs Chloe back. “Thank you,” she says, and Chloe can’t think of the last time someone asked her for support- needed her at all.

“Don’t worry about it,” Chloe says, and she really, really means it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because mari is too nice to spill the tea, i will: 
> 
> she accused gabriel agreste of being hawkmoth and adrien freaks out, is revealed, and hands in his miraculous with plagg's urging cuz he's way too close to things- mari drops the issue on his behalf
> 
> alya and nino stayed on the team for a little while, but for personal reasons (nino had to travel a ton for his career and alya was compromising her position as a reporter but neglecting key facts she knew as hero) they stopped being able to help nearly as much- mari supported them with this, but never told them who she is
> 
> and now she grew apart from them because she's still busy but comes off as a huge flake, and they really have no idea
> 
> let me know what you think of the chapter :) i really appreciate each and every comment!!


	14. snowflakes

Marinette gets an invite to have dinner with Rose and Juleka – it seems like a weekly thing, based on the casualness of the invitation and Marinette’s easy claim that Kim will close the shop for her – and the girl seems bent as always on dragging Chloe along with her.

The two get dressed, with Marinette putting on jeans and a t-shirt – a step up from her usual casual look, Chloe thinks, though she’s starting to firmly believe Marinette could make any outfit look outrageously good – while she makes herself presentable by showering and changing into slightly cleaner clothes.

They pack up and head out – Marinette dragging along a Tupperware stuffed full with different cookies, brownies, and other baked goods from the shop – trekking the whole way through light snow to Chloe’s deepest chagrin.

Eventually, they make it there, though Chloe’s shivering from the cold, and they’re welcomed with an enthusiastic hello from Rose and a begrudgingly pleased greeting from Juleka.

Marinette insists on staying and chatting long past dinner, the other two girls delighted to be hearing from their good friend. Chloe’s not quite sure how to contribute, but she notices Marinette repeatedly trying to draw her into the conversation and help her feel comfortable- it feels nice to be looked out for in a subtle, no strings attached way.

After several hours have passed, Rose leaps up and excitedly points out the start of a new snowfall- even Juleka admits that it looks beautiful under the dim streetlights.

Rose and Marinette – and these two should have never been given the chance to build off each other’s naïve and wholesome energies, Chloe’s sure Juleka would agree – immediately start get bundled up and decide they’re going outside to see the snow better. In the interest of not letting them lose track of time and freeze, the other two pull their coats on and follow them out.

Rose and Juleka quickly separate to look deeply into each other’s eyes under a tree – they’d be disgusting if they weren’t so cute – and Chloe and Marinette are left alone. She watches Marinette dance and twirl as the snowflakes fall, uncharacteristically relaxed as she lifts her face to the sky and tries to catch snow on her tongue. After all she’s learned in the past few days, this girl needed a break more than anything. Chloe feels lucky she’s trusted enough to witness it.

She makes her way to Chloe, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her away from the building to experience the full force of the weather, and tugs Chloe around while she keeps dancing. With the way Marinette is grinning at her, the way the snowflakes fall and melt in her dark hair, the look in her eyes; Chloe feels like she’s about to spontaneously combust. She thinks she’d be colder, but the warmth of Marinette’s hands in hers and the blush in her cheeks keeps her moving- and, oh yeah, Chloe’s entirely too gone on this girl.

In the end, she lasts five whole minutes like this before she brings Marinette back inside under the guise of being too cold and needing to warm up- Chloe decides this amount of self-control is an accomplishment of the highest order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally some relationship fluff to break from exposition and plot things :)
> 
> have an awesome day and enjoy :)


	15. books

“How’d you end up stuck as Ladybug, anyways?” Chloe asks one day, her feet propped up on the end of her favorite couch. Marinette’s doing some midnight baking – experimenting for the store presumably, Kim works there at the register but she’s still the only one who makes the product – and looks over sharply. “Seems like you really got shafted with all that Guardian work.”

“Master Fu selected me when I was 14,” Marinette says softly, a hint of defensiveness evident in her tone. There’s something weird about that age – something Chloe remembers hearing about during a time where she didn’t pay attention to anything but herself, something important that she knows she’s missing – but she can’t quite make it connect. “I wouldn’t say I got shafted; he chose two main holders and only one was in a situation where they could fulfill that duty.”

“He made you a teenaged superhero and then left you with his job?” Chloe asks critically. “Sounds like a class act to me. I’m glad I just had you to deal with when I was Queen B-”

“You’re being too harsh on him,” Marinette interrupts, stopping what she’s doing in the kitchen to focus on the conversation. “We all did what we had to-”

“Well, Chat Noir certainly didn’t seem to do much,” Chloe snorts, checking her nails.

Marinette frowns, crossing her arms. “We were sixteen when he stopped helping me; it’s not fair to judge him for that. He didn’t know what leaving would mean for me, what it would do to my powers.”

“And you were left alone at sixteen with a faulty miraculous?” Chloe fills in harshly. She thinks of Marinette during their teen years, and it comes together in a rush- routinely missed classes, uncharacteristic exhaustion at school, now stuck running the bakery almost by herself. “Oh my god, was that when your parents-”

“Stop. I’m not going to talk about this.” Chloe opens her mouth to say something again, but the look on Marinette’s face stops her. “Master Fu took me in around then. School and friends – fashion and all those hobbies – couldn’t be a priority anymore. I wasn’t just trying to fight a war anymore; I was preparing for a lifelong duty. It is all I’ve done since then.”

Chloe’s fully focused on Marinette now, trying to read her closed off expression, but Marinette stalks back to the kitchen and starts again on her recipe. She may not have paid much attention to her in school, but Chloe knows fashion wasn’t a hobby- it was her dream. For all that Marinette seems to love running the bakery and is good at it, Chloe can’t help but wonder if it’s more out of obligation to her parent’s legacy than any personal interest. She’s certainly watched it take it’s toll on her, spending hours every day working and then going out to fight a villain every single night. “Marinette…” She tries, but the other girl doesn’t even react.

There’s a vague memory of Marinette’s parents dying suddenly of natural causes, and some classmates talking about it; then Alya loudly discussing an inability to contact either of Marinette’s grandparents for support. Chloe supposes that’s when her Ladybug training accelerated, and she got used to fighting her battles alone. She wonders how accidental it was, given Marinette’s overly anxious defense of her former guardian and how much their deaths contributed to her own growth as a heroine.

She watches a tear slide down Marinette’s face and resolves to do a better job of helping her friend next time- she decides Marinette won’t cry because of her ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a common theme for this story is chloe is kinda oblivious to things that aren't relevant to her- she cares a lot more now, but missed out on a lot of big events in mari's life
> 
> also fu picking teenage superheroes to fight a grown villain? sketchy as hell, i shall judge him for it in every guardian!mari fic i write
> 
> enjoy !! and have a lovely day


	16. christmas tree

Chloe spends most of her time alone in the apartment, doing nothing unless she’s unwillingly dragged along to another friend gathering. All in all- her productivity has taken a hit in the last few weeks.

Marinette works each and every day, splitting her limited time between running an entire small business alone and leading an ongoing, years-long battle against a supervillain- Chloe watches her fray along the edges as she grows more tired, and decides she can do something to help lessen the load.

The other day, Chloe listened to Marinette lament over her lack of time to pick out a tree and thinks that should be easy enough to find.

She calls up everyone she can think of – her former butler, Sabrina, even her dad – but no one answers. She then moves onto Marinette’s friends she’s been forced to begin bonding with – namely, Juleka and Rose – but both are too busy to help.

No problem, Chloe thinks. This is still no problem.

Seven hours later, covered in scratches and sticky sap and faced with a bemused Marinette, Chloe realizes some things are best done with help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some chill fluff :)


	17. sweets

Rose invites Marinette out to shop for presents for Juleka, and Chloe comes with them- at this point, any excuse to leave the apartment is becoming increasingly welcome.

They go straight to the little grouping of shops Marinette brought Chloe to before the class reunion, and Marinette immediately runs off into a yarn and cloth store – it’s nice to see that she’s still interested in fashion, even if she’s not pursuing it as seriously as she once did – leaving Rose and Chloe awkwardly outside.

Chloe starts humming, not sure what to say to the other girl, when Rose finally breaks the silence.

“So, are you present shopping for anyone?” She asks, cheerily as ever.

Chloe frowns and considers it. “I haven’t really thought of anything. I don’t exactly have anyone to buy for, or the means to get anything I normally would.”

Rose hesitates, then glances through her purse before looking back up. “I have enough to get something for you? If you have anything in mind, of course.”

“I, uh, might like to get something for Marinette, if you’re sure it’s not a problem?” Chloe asks, outwardly confident but a little embarrassed. Rose’s face lights up and she smiles wide- Chloe’s vaguely reminded of a match-making crew back in their school days that Rose was heavily involved in, and feels a sense of terror wash over her quickly.

“Of course, I can help you with that!” She bursts out, then grabs Chloe’s arm. “What do you think you’ll get her?”

Chloe glances around the stores, searching carefully. After Marinette went to the trouble of taking her in, free of charge, she should try to get something really nice and meaningful, like when she baked the cookies- only this time, she wants them to turn out. She spots a sweets shop – the same one Marinette dragged her out of their last time in town when they fought – and points it out to Rose.

“Oh, that’s adorable!” She squeals and takes off, pulling Chloe quickly with her. “This will be so cute, I bet Marinette will love it.”

Chloe lets Rose drag her into the shop, yanking her arm free when she sees the lightly confused stares of the customer service workers, trying to maintain an air of dignity as she steps forward to browse the chocolate displays.

She takes her time, picking out several she thinks Marinette will like, before packaging them up. It costs less than she’d expected, but she still feels bad watching Rose pay- though she’s adamant that she’s happy to help out, Chloe doesn’t think she would’ve done something like this for someone, no-strings-attached. At least, not before she got kicked out.

Rose picks out a few things for Juleka and they start walking out of the shop, when the whole building shakes, throwing them both to the ground. Chloe hits her head hard on the ground and the world seems to waver.

Chloe watches, wide-eyed and woozy, as Ladybug is thrown through the door in front of them, shattering glass across them all. Ladybug – no, Marinette, Chloe realizes in a panic – pulls a particularly nasty shard of glass out of her arm before staggering to her feet. Pegasus blinks into the shop and grabs her by the shoulder before they disappear in a flash of light.

Another giant explosion makes the earth quake and Chloe knocks her head hard into a counter. The last thing she sees before blacking out is Rose crawling towards her through the broken glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apparently i cannot manage to write a mlb story without hawkmoth's interference...whoops!
> 
> sorry for the cliffhanger lol


	18. mulled wine

Chloe wakes up in an unfamiliar building with the memory of bleeding palms and a headache, and opens her eyes slowly. She’s sitting on the floor of the chocolate shop, Rose next to her with two still pristine shopping bags.

“What happened?” She asks groggily, feeling like she just woke up from a deep sleep.

Rose finally notices she’s awake and claps excitedly. “Oh, thank goodness you’re up, Juleka’s been worried sick about me. I didn’t want to leave you alone, though!” Chloe frowns quizzically and Rose laughs. “You hit your head pretty hard- there was an akuma battle, really close to us, but Ladybug and Pegasus took care of it. I was worried about our bags, but everything looks like it’s been restored perfectly!”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Chloe offers offhandedly, picking up her own present for Marinette and rifling through it to make sure everything’s intact. “Was it a bad fight?”

“Absolutely terrible!” Rose says animatedly. “Ladybug got thrown into the shop with us and looked pretty cut up, and I’m pretty sure everything just got worse from there. It’s been over for a bit, the employees here said we could rest however long we needed.”

Chloe’s eyes widen as she processes that information, then jumps to her feet. “Hey- I really appreciate you waiting for me, Rose, but I’d better get back and check on Marinette. And you should go talk to Juleka! It’s been fun, thanks!” She grabs her bag and practically sprints out of the shop, making her way home in a panic.

It’s barely been an hour since the fight ended, and people are already walking normally in the restored area- she remembers a time when akuma battles would shut whole sections of the city down for the day.

She finally makes it back to the apartment and bursts in, freezing when she sees a faint trail of blood on the floor leading towards the bathroom. She steps in slowly, knocking on the doorframe to announce herself, before opening the door.

“Oh, shit, Mari,” she whispers as Marinette looks up slowly from where she’s seated on the edge of the bathtub, a pile of broken glass laid out on a towel beside her. It looks like she’s still not done pulling it out, if her tweezers are any indication. There’s a half-full bottle of wine by her side that she’s clearly been drinking while she self-administers first-aid. “You weren’t exaggerating when you said the cure wasn’t working right.”

Marinette laughs drily and shrugs, wincing as it pulls on the still-open cuts on her shoulder. “Yeah, well. I make it work. And I’m not actually in danger of dying, at least- the suit protects me that much.”

Chloe steps forward, hands by her sides, unsure of what to do. “What happened out there? There’s been a ton of fights since I’ve moved in and you’ve never come back this beat up.”

“Not that you’ve seen at least,” Marinette tries to joke- Chloe doesn’t laugh. “Not everyone could make it today. Pegasus is a lot of help for moving around quickly, but he’s not good at fighting close-up; just bad luck that this akuma was pretty physical. I had to get in close to try and free it and Pegasus couldn’t stop a lot of the damage.” Marinette pulls out another large shard, taking carefully measured deep breaths through it.

Chloe surveys her more closely and does her best to handle any outward anxiety about the state Marinette is in. She’s stripped down to her bra and underwear, both probably ruined from her cuts, and there’s heavy bruising over most of her arms and torso- it’s different colors and Chloe realizes that this is lasting damage from the past several fights.

She hates to ask, but it’s to enough to stop her. “What’s the worst you’ve been injured?” She manages softly.

Marinette snorts and continues pulling out glass, this time moving onto her leg. “Broke a leg once, had to set and wrap it myself. I’ve got accelerated healing, though- as long as I can get everything mostly fixed, the powers will do the rest.”

“What happens if you aren’t fast enough?”

“I would’ve had to rebreak the bone and set it properly,” she answers calmly. “I have to get all this glass out fast, otherwise the skin will grow over it and I’ll have to cut it out.”

“Ah,” Chloe says weakly. “Do you- would you want some help with that?”

Marinette looks at her appraisingly, then nods. “If you think you can handle it, I don’t have an issue.” She plops down on the floor of the bathroom, next to her towel, and takes a long swig of her wine to prepare. “Just make sure you go fast and get everything you can.”

Chloe sits down behind her and grabs tweezers, then begins individually pulling out the glass shards. She watches Marinette take another long drink, then mutters, “I think alcohol is supposed to be a blood thinner, you know.”

Marinette turns to glare at Chloe. “I’m close to bleeding out regardless, and we haven’t even been bothering with anything to clean the wounds. Medical carefulness is not exactly the priority here, I have magic powers.”

“I wish you’d take this seriously,” Chloe hisses, pulling out a particularly nasty piece deep in Marinette’s leg.

“Excuse me?” Marinette asks, affronted.

Chloe focuses while she talks. “You’re battered as hell, Marinette, and you can’t even ask for help yourself when you need it- I bet most of your team doesn’t even know this is an issue.” Marinette stays turned, so she continues harshly. “I was so worried getting back here, when I came in and saw the floor all bloody, and it’s because your team didn’t show up?”

“Don’t blame them, they were busy-” Marinette tries to say, her voice weirdly tight, but Chloe keeps going.

“I’m sure they were busy! But so were you, and you made it work. And now I’m here, trying to fix this, but all I can think about is how many times you’ve sat here alone, bleeding out by yourself, trying to handle the pain alone.”

Marinette finally responds, whirling around to meet Chloe’s eyes, and she’s shocked by the rolling tears on Marinette’s face. “What would you have me do? I’m not going to make them put their lives on hold like I’ve had to, that’s not fair!”

“And it’s fair you have to deal with all this?”

“Yes!” Marinette explodes. Chloe eyes the way her cuts are starting to agitate and reopen, though she’s gotten almost all of the glass out. “Life must have balance and my life – my happiness – for the good of this entire city is a more than fair trade. I sit in here after each battle and do my best to keep my body from falling apart while my kwami recharges and I fix the city! I don’t have another option, as much as it really, really sucks.”

She’s breathing hard, angrily, and Chloe glares right back. “You could bring me back as Queen Bee.”

Marinette sits back, blinking hard a few times. “What?”

It’s Chloe’s turn to lean forward, into Marinette’s space, and she grins. “Bring me back as a hero. I spend all my time doing nothing anyways, I could help you fight. And don’t pretend like you don’t need the help, not after tonight.”

“I- I couldn’t bring you back as Queen Bee, it wouldn’t work,” Marinette says thoughtfully before shaking her head hard. “No. I’m not bringing in another teammate, it’s not necessary- and I don’t want to see you hurt. Besides, I don’t have any other secondary miraculouses in play- it’d knock the balance even more out of sync, and then I might not heal at all anymore.”

“Then bring me back as a different hero,” Chloe says, getting excited. “Marinette, you’ve got to let me do this, it’s the perfect solution for both of us-”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Marinette retorts. “I am the Guardian and I don’t need help.” Her voice is too hard, too falsely confident – of anyone, Chloe knows what that sounds like – and she’s started trembling, whether from the blood loss or argument Chloe’s not sure, and she decides she needs to let it drop for now.

She gently pushes Marinette to face away, then carefully scans her arms and legs for more glass, picking out the last few remaining pieces. Marinette stays silent.

The bathroom isn’t stocked with bandages or ointment for the cuts and Chloe hesitates, not sure what to do next. Marinette senses the pause and turns to back to face her, slowly.

Chloe takes her in, the way the bags under her eyes seem to cut deep and how bright her eyes are shining with tears, the way she seems one slight breeze away from toppling over, and all she feels is worry. “Can I help you to bed?” Chloe finally asks tentatively. Marinette nods, silent, and Chloe does her best to lift her up, carrying her bridal style.

She stumbles out of the bathroom and through the hall towards Marinette’s room, doing her best to stabilize her exhausted friend, before knocking the door open with her foot and depositing Marinette gently on the bed. She helps pull back the covers and tucks the almost asleep Marinette in, smoothing the messy bangs over her forehead so they lie more easily.

Chloe is walking towards the door, trying to stay quiet so she doesn’t disturb her rest, when she hears Marinette say something. She turns back and sees her, still curled up in a ball under the blankets, and takes a step closer. “What did you say?”

Marinette cracks an eye open to stay at her and it’s clear that she’s entirely drained, both physically and emotionally. “Stay? I don’t want to have nightmares tonight.”

She hesitates – of course she hesitates, Marinette’s been all over the place since the fight and Chloe doesn’t want to cross a line – but her worry for Marinette’s health overrides her nerves. Chloe turns off the light and shuts the door, then slowly pads over to the bed before crawling in. She’s barely in it for a minute when Marinette instinctively rolls towards her, putting her head on Chloe’s arm. Chloe realizes way too late that Marinette is still in her bra and underwear and that she seems to be a cuddler.

Chloe decides to pet Marinette’s hair, brushing her fingers through it soothingly, staying still until she feels the girl’s breathing even out. She then finally settles into the bed, soaking up the warmth Marinette seems to radiate, and feels herself start to fade.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” she whispers towards the unconscious Marinette, and then falls into pleasant dreams herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the super long chapter! hope y'all enjoy
> 
> and question...which miraculous should i give chloe? i'm considering a few different ones and am open to suggestions :)
> 
> basically, it'd probably be the bee miraculous, one of the tertiary/zodiac miraculous, or the black cat


	19. candles

Chloe wakes up for the second time in a row to an unfamiliar environment- though this time, rather than being on a hard and uncomfortable hardwood floor, she’s enveloped in a calming warmth. She comes to slowly, comfier than she’s been since her plush bed at her father’s hotel, and starts to sit up.

She’s blocked by a heavy arm over her stomach and a head on her own arm, and she takes a wary moment to actually process her surroundings. She sees Marinette, still deeply unconscious and knocked out, sprawled on top of her in just her bra and underwear, drooling just a little on her bicep.

Chloe turns bright red and starts thinking through her options – she could try to go back to sleep even with her fast-racing heart, she could just lay here until Marinette wakes up even though it’s creepy, she could do her best to memorize the feeling of safety enveloping her entirely – when an alarm on Marinette’s side starts blaring. Chloe cringes away while Marinette springs into wakefulness, reaching over immediately to hit the bedside alarm clock into silent submission.

She then turns back to her spot on the bed and slowly spots Chloe.

“Ah,” Marinette says, slightly panicked. “Fancy seeing you here, Chlo?”

“Always a pleasure,” Chloe responds. She thinks her face might be getting even redder. “I’ll, uh, leave you to get ready?”

Marinette glances down at her half-dressed state, squeaks, then nods quickly- Chloe needs no further prompting to get out of there and onto the couch where she normally stays.

Just minutes later, Marinette bursts out of her room, apron in hand, and is rushing out the door with nothing but a rushed goodbye- and Chloe’s left alone for the day. She lays on her couch, thinking back to how peaceful she felt waking up next to Marinette and how worried she’d been the night before, and decides she wouldn’t be opposed to more of that in the future.

Which, of course, leaves the question of how she’s going to go about it.

Chloe checks to make sure her bag of chocolates is intact – it is, tossed haphazardly onto the kitchen counter – and she proceeds to pick through what’s in Marinette’s pantry. There’s not a lot, considering Marinette likes to buy fresh ingredients each week, but Chloe does manage to find assorted veggies and a box of pasta.

She then dedicates her whole day to researching a decent recipe and doing her best to cut up and prep the vegetables, making a fairly nice meal considering her limited skills. She then rifles through Marinette’s cupboard drawers before finding two pretty red candles, setting those out on the table.

It’s all timed well enough that Chloe finishes setting it all up right when Marinette walks through the door, late in the night, and Chloe’s sitting proudly next to the two lit candles and dinner.

“Have you eaten yet?” Chloe asks and Marinette starts.

“I haven’t, actually,” she answers looking over the pre-done dishes and obvious effort put into assembling the meal. “What’s all this?”

Chloe fights off her returning blush – it’s been off and on all day, every time she thinks about Marinette – and focuses on smiling widely. “I thought we could eat dinner together and talk, if you’d like?” Marinette grins and sits down with her, picking up her fork to start eating.

“Thank goodness, I’m absolutely starved,” she starts, mouth already full. “Sorry I rushed out of here this morning; I didn’t manage to set an extra alarm last night.”

“Um,” Chloe starts, suddenly anxious- which is stupid, because Chloe doesn’t get anxious. Getting into relationships is awkward, and uncomfortable, but Chloe thinks back to how close she’s grown to Marinette recently and knows it’d be worth it to try- she’ll regret it if she never does. “No worries. But could we talk about that?”

Marinette’s smile turns wary and she sighs, looking down. “I- I know you really want to, and that it’d be good for us, but I just don’t think we can move forward with it at this point.”

“Oh,” Chloe says dumbly. That rejection came fast. “Can I at least explain why I want to-?”

But Marinette shakes her head. “I doubt you can make an argument I haven’t thought of- and believe me, I’ve thought about it.”

Oh, Chloe thinks, but is still too surprised to respond. She hadn’t been sure exactly what she wanted, but Marinette’s clear dismissal manages to sting quite a bit. All she’d known was that she wanted something more than being Marinette’s uninvolved, couch potato houseguest- preferably, something that allowed her to be quite a bit closer. But if Marinette was so opposed…

“I just can’t justify another holder right now,” Marinette finishes and Chloe jolts back- she must’ve been more lost in her thoughts than she realized.

“Uh, so just to be clear, what you’re saying no to is…?” Chloe starts, starting to connect the dots.

“You wanting to be Queen Bee,” Marinette answers seriously while she gulps down the last of the pasta. “I appreciate the effort you made into getting on my good side, though. The candles are a nice touch.”

Chloe blinks- should she even try to restart this meal after Marinette is clearly already finished, or just let it go? “Ah, I-” Marinette hops up to bring her dish into the kitchen, then sways on her feet. “Oh my god, do you need to go back to sleep already?”

Marinette smiles sheepishly and shrugs. “I have been up all day, I guess. And I guess I’m pretty exhausted from yesterday still.”

“I can pack up here?” Chloe offers and Marinette sighs gratefully. “You should go to bed, you definitely need it.”

“Ha, thanks,” Marinette answers. “I really appreciate all this, by the way. And you helping last night. I’m just not ready for someone new on the team.”

She heads back to her bedroom, leaving Chloe alone with the failed meal attempt, and Chloe’s not even mad about it- just relieved that Marinette is sleeping. She doesn’t ask Chloe to come sleep with her again, and Chloe blows out the candles.

There’ll be another chance to talk to Marinette and figure out what she wants from their relationship. They’ve got time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone who commented yesterday ! your feedback has been noted
> 
> here's another chapter :) enjoy and have a great day!


	20. ornaments

Chloe has never once been asked to help decorate a Christmas tree, though she’s seen several ridiculously ornate ones throughout her father’s hotels during her life. Marinette asks – practically expects, really – Chloe to help when she lugs out a big box of holiday supplies, but she can’t even bring herself to be annoyed.

She’s touched, really.

Marinette absentmindedly hands her ornament after ornament, trusting her to not create a horrifically ugly tree, and Chloe does her best to comply. She handles each one with care – most clearly handmade and well-loved, a few store-bought – and thinks they must mean a lot to Marinette.

There’s a few fairly old, badly knit animals – a fox, a cat, a turtle, a ladybug – that are fraying at the edges. Chloe thinks it’s sweet Marinette held onto clear remnants of her old team. Newer and nicer, she’s happy to see several new creatures to put up: there’s a dragon, snake, monkey, and horse to put up front.

And of course, there’s a few cheap and simple bakery-themed ornaments added to the mix.

Towards the bottom of the pile, carefully wrapped, Marinette pulls out some old relics that are dated back to her childhood and even a few that must’ve been Sabine’s and Tom’s, left to her. Chloe treats them as fragilely as glass and hangs them near the top.

The box is empty and Chloe thinks they’re done when Marinette reaches into her purse and – face in a splitting grin – pulls out a brand new, freshly made bee with a little crown attached on its head. Chloe stares at it and thinks she’s falling in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng a little more every day. 

No one’s ever made her a present like this before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's my first day back with classes! so i'm dropping this quickly :) enjoy and have a great day!


	21. reunions

Chloe’s dad calls her up before the annual hotel Christmas party and begs her to make an appearance. She doesn’t hesitate before saying no.

Her mom then gets on the call and practically demands she show up, and Chloe laughs at their confidence- they have the nerve to cut her off and then decide she’s still going to keep up public appearances for them, not even apologizing for the fight they had? Only Audrey Bourgeois would even consider this- and only her father is enough of a sucker to go along with it.

She’s about to hang up, leave her dad entirely in the lurch, when she thinks of how much Marinette misses her parents, even though she never talks about it. She thinks about how hard Marinette has tried to help Chloe make friends and get to know new people, to generally learn to be a better person.

Chloe waits for her mom to hand the phone back to her dad, then quietly tells him she’d be willing to see him again after the New Year, that they could meet up privately and catch up outside of the public eye, on her own terms. He sounds choked up as he agrees, and she can hear her mom berate him for agreeing to something so sentimental through the phone- this time, he doesn’t cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good for chloe, and good for her dad!


	22. snowball fight

“Tell me about the team,” Chloe asks, sprawled out on the living room next to carpet beside Marinette, a plate of macaroons between them.

“Chloe,” Marinette says warningly, “We’ve talked about this.”

“Marinette,” Chloe mimics drily, “There’s no point in not telling me about the miraculous. What’s the worst that could happen?”

She raises her eyebrows, propping herself on her elbows while she moves closer to Chloe. “You get a miraculous and get badly hurt in a fight?”

“And then get healed immediately by your cure,” Chloe retorts. “Oh wait- are you talking about you? ‘Cause that’s exactly what happens to you now.”

“Funny,” Marinette responds, snatching a pink macaroon and biting into it angrily. “Very funny.”

Chloe beams. “Thanks, I get that a lot. Seriously though- just tell me about the team. I want to hear about who you hang out with.”

“Oh really?” Marinette asks, bemused, and Chloe nods. “Alright then. I don’t think I can tell you their identities, other than Luka’s, but I can tell you about them- I’m not sure if there’s anything more to say beyond what I’ve already told you though?”

“Just tell me about a typical fight?” Chloe offers.

“Alright,” she says, thinking. “Well, it’s pretty rare that everyone shows up for an akuma. The point of having a team this big is to pick up the slack of everyone having lives, you know? I’m the only critical player who has to be here, and I own the place I work at so I can leave if necessary- plus, Kim’s usually there to cover for me when I have to dash out. And I’ve started stocking extra baked goods to sell if I miss a morning.”

“Smart,” Chloe affirms. “You and Kim do a surprisingly good job running that bakery. I would’ve expected him to burn it down within an hour of being left alone.”

Marinette snorts, and shakes her head. “No, no, he does a great job. A total lifesaver, you know? Though he did set an oven on fire once…but now the whole store is stocked with fire extinguishers.”

“Oh, my god, I’m so not surprised.”

“The rest of the team helps me out a lot too, outside of work. Ryuko is a really good and versatile fighter, she can do a ton of distance attacks before her timer runs out. Plus, she’s trained in fighting outside of the costume, so she’s totally a ringer for the team! King Monkey is also a real strong opponent, especially since he can flip powers and throw our opponents out of whack- I really only need him if Mayura is out to play too, though. Both of them help me with actual fighting.”

Chloe considers it- Ladybug’s not considered a genius strategist for nothing. “That seems well thought out.”

“Thanks,” she answers, grabbing a green macaroon this time. “When I got the chance to make a new team, I tried to be smart about who I pulled- there’s two fighters and two supporters, and I can do a bit of everything.”

“And Pegasus and Luka are the supporters?”

“Well, yeah,” Marinette nods. “We call Luka Viperion, though, for obvious secrecy reasons. You already know Pegasus can teleport, which helps us stay close to the akumas and get away if we’re at risk of getting hurt, and Luka can rewind time of a specific event, which lets us fix critical mistakes. He’ll usually just pull me aside after each reset and run me through what to do next.”

“If you could bring in another person, what miraculous do you think you’d give them?” Chloe asks innocently. Marinette frowns at her, clearly not fooled, and Chloe reaches for a chocolate macaroon casually. “Just wondering, of course.”

“Hypothetically,” Marinette pauses and stares at Chloe- she smiles back cheerily. “If I brought someone new on, I’d need someone to add something new to the team, or make up for their absences.”

“What’s your gut response, for what you’d add to the team?”

“We need another melee fighter who doesn’t need to be taken out immediately by Pegasus,” Marinette answers immediately, then flushes. “Not that the rest of the team isn’t competent, of course, but-”

Chloe thinks of all the fights she’s witnessed – and since she’s found out Marinette’s identity, she’s watched quite a few – and thinks she knows what the weak point is. “You’re the only one who can get that close to akumas, but you’re getting hurt doing it.” Marinette nods, hesitant, and Chloe continues. “Pegasus – and Viperion, I’m guessing, based on his role – don’t have enough armor or protection to take a lot of hits before needing to be healed. Not that you do either, but you fight anyways,” Chloe mutters with no small amount of annoyance. “I’ve seen King Monkey fight and he’s slow- he’s covered in bulky armor and he can get close for one or two big hits, but he can’t fight for a long time with anyone. And Ryuko’s built for distance fighting, like you said; she’s got those lightning and fire attacks but she’s in that long dress, she doesn’t have mobility.”

“Yes- yes, exactly,” Marinette agrees. “And they do a great job, but I’m the only member with the mobility and endurance to get close. We can’t let Luka take a hit, he’s too important strategically, and Pegasus has no protection. The other two are all armor and no speed. I need someone with a combination of the two, like me.”

“So make me the black cat,” Chloe offers nonchalantly and Marinette recoils. “Oh, why not!” She bursts out, frustrated. “The bee has mobility and protection but then everyone would know it’s me, and the secret identity would be moot. This is a great solution and you know it.”

Marinette sputters before settling on an answer. “I don’t want to put you at risk!”

“Well, good thing your miraculous cure works great on everyone but you- plus, wouldn’t this restore balance, like perfectly?”

“I don’t want to make someone give up their lives for this.”

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Good thing I’m offering.”

“What about when you go back to the hotel, get that job back?”

“Oh, like I’m ever going back there- I’ve met up with my dad and am getting the trust fund money back soon, but I’m not making myself dependent on him again.”

Marinette raises her eyebrows, a little impressed, but keeps going. “So you’ve got your money back and you’re just staying here on my couch?”

“You got a problem with that?” Chloe fires back aggressively and Marinette blanches.

“No,” she says quietly. “I like you staying here. But I don’t want you stuck here.”

And that’s the crux of the matter for Marinette, Chloe realizes: she cares so much about other people that she’ll never ask them to stay. She gave her first team the opportunity to leave and they took it. Even with the clear loyalty and comradery of this new group she’s assembled, she hasn’t asked them to step up like she so clearly needs- and she’s hurting under all the pressure, of being Ladybug and Guardian and owning the bakery.

Chloe closes the short distance between them, leaning over to where Marinette is laying on her side, and buries her head on Marinette’s shoulder, pressing down and knocking her onto her back. “I don’t want to leave, by the way.”

“Wh-what?” Marinette says, sounding a little crushed. Chloe doesn’t let up.

“I’m not going to leave you. I want to help. And you’ll be helping me, by giving me something to do- by letting me do this.”

Marinette’s chest shudders, and Chloe closes her eyes as she feels her breathe. “I-I’m not sure, I can’t make-”

Marinette’s phone alarm turns out, blaring an akuma alert, and Chloe sits up, raising her eyebrows tauntingly.

“You can’t make me do anything, Marinette. So. What’s it gonna be?”

Marinette is frozen, Chloe can see her mind moving a mile a minute, but then she leaps to her feet. She runs to her bedroom and comes out, transformed in her superheroine glory, holding out a thin black ring to Chloe.

“You better be ready for this,” Marinette warns, before she leaps out their balcony window. Chloe only hesitates a second before transforming and following her.

“Oh, I was born ready,” she shouts after her, already laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally supposed to be an actual fight...but then i remembered i'm terrible at writing fights/physical blocking for characters, and mari needed to talk it through first, before she'd just give out the miraculous
> 
> so here's a longer update! here's some good vibes for everyone and have a nice day :)


	23. cookies

A block away from the battle zone, Chloe realizes she’s potentially not as prepared as she thought she’d be for her first fight.

For one thing, she has no idea how to use this miraculous – beyond what all of Paris generally knows about Cataclysm and leftover reflexes from the bee – and the extending pole keeps tripping her up when she leaps roof to roof, meaning Marinette has already been there fighting for a while. Another thing – one glaringly obvious, as she stumbles to a halt on a building overlooking the street – is that she’s seriously out of practice. That impulsive, adrenaline-fueled fighting instinct from her teen years is largely gone, and she’s too smart now to rush in without a plan.

The issue is, she doesn’t know where to start.

She perches on the edge of the roof she’s on, taking note of who’s in the fight- only Ryuko and Ladybug have arrived that she can see, and she’s pretty sure Ryuko’s timer is going to run out soon, if the sporadic beeping is any indication.

The akuma itself keeps calling itself the Cookie Monster – loudly declaring it in fact – and is covered in some kind of cookie armor. It’s holding a tray of different flavored cookies that replenish themselves every time they fling one out- it looks like they all have different effects.

They’re wearing a chocolate chip cookie hat that’s shockingly durable, based on Ryuko’s inability to pierce it thus far- Chloe’s willing to bet their akumatized item is under that protection.

She sees that Ladybug is trying to get in close to break the armor piece by piece with her yoyo and fists while Ryuko blasts the cookie projectiles that get close to hitting her, but it’s clear that she hasn’t managed to block them all- Ladybug’s suit is covered in small tears where razor sharp gingersnaps and red-hot snickerdoodles have landed, and it’s almost entirely missing from her knuckles, where she’s been hitting through the akuma’s armor.

They’re going to win this eventually, Chloe realizes slowly, but Marinette’s going to come away battered.

She’s not sure where to intervene though – the two of them are moving too fast, a clearly experienced pair, and she’s worried that her jumping in will only distract them – when she spots a rock-hard oatmeal raisin cookie break through their defenses directly towards Marinette.

Without thinking, she moves to leap off the roof and starts falling towards the akuma when—

\--something grabs her by her shirt collar and yanks her back up.

She whirls around, prepared to fight whatever fresh hell cookie this akuma has conjured up, but stops short when she sees who it is.

“Lu- I mean, Viperion?” She stutters out, tripping over the secret identity.

“Yes,” he answers shortly, clearly rushing. “Can I call you Black Cat?”

“Uh, sure-” She hears something impact behind her and tries to turn and look, but Luka stops her.

“Okay, great,” he starts, cutting her off- she huffs angrily but he doesn’t wait for her. “Ladybug told me when she got here that you’d be coming and to explain what I can- are you who I think you are?” She nods. “I can work with that. Your power activation is Cataclysm, you can destroy-”

“-destroy anything I touch, I know. I worked with the last Chat Noir, you know-” She starts but is cut off by Luka grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. She pulls herself free angrily and moves to turn back to the battle, but freezes when she sees Marinette on the ground, arm visibly broken from the impact of the weapon Chloe failed to block—

“I know this is hard, but I don’t have time for your panicking, I have to explain this quickly,” he says, pointed but patient. “Ladybug said stay out of battle if you want, but she trusts you to fight if you can. Do you plan to fight?”

She hesitates and he looks at her impatiently. “I- yes. I will.”

He stares at her for a moment, then nods. “Okay. Ready?”

“Uh-” She finally looks down and sees Marinette limping painfully, struggling to land another blow on the akuma while Ryuko rushes away to detransform—

“Second chance!” He cries, keeping ahold of her shoulders.

Suddenly, she’s back on the rooftop, watching the battle- Marinette’s biggest injuries are gone. Chloe looks around, confused, and sees Luka signal for her to focus, then disappear behind another part of the building. She’s arrived right before everything in the fight started going wrong.

Okay, then. It’s go time.

She turns back to the fight and sees the oatmeal raisin cookie about to be thrown at Marinette’s blind spot and she launches herself down, grabbing the akuma’s arm before they finish the movement. Cookie Monster freezes, shocked at the sight of a new black cat, and Chloe twists their arm painfully.

“Surprise,” she snarls, and takes her chance. “Cataclysm.”

The akuma’s armor shatters into dust and, before it gets a chance to move again, Marinette jumps in and grabs the akumatized item- a baking competition second-place ribbon. She tears it and purifies it quickly, then smiles brightly at Chloe.

“Good work, Black Cat,” she says playfully, and Chloe smiles, relieved. “Miraculous Ladybug!” she calls, letting the white butterflies wash over them and fix the battered street around them.

Chloe’s a little more than awestruck, watching her friend so utterly confident and in her element- most of Paris has had a crush on her for a reason. Luka’s entirely disappeared – Chloe doubts she would’ve even known he was there if he didn’t pull her aside – and Ryuko has left to beat her timer, leaving the two of them alone.

She’s panting from adrenaline, still grinning, and she finds herself gravitating closer to Marinette, eyes drifting to her lips, and—

Her timer beeps, signaling four minutes left.

Marinette smiles up at her, oblivious, and readies her yoyo. “Race you to the bakery?”

Chloe hesitates – more than a little disappointed – but nods. “You’re on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i struggle really bad with writing action/fight sequences so hopefully this makes sense and it's easy to follow everything! 
> 
> posting this right before i go to work :) time management is so difficult eek!
> 
> hopefully y'all think the cookie monster akuma is fun!
> 
> enjoy and have a great night


	24. joy

They stumble back to the bakery a minute before their transformations run out, tumbling over one another in an effort to be the first one in- Chloe trips Marinette at the last moment and they fall on top of each other inside the entryway.

“Hi,” Chloe whispers, looking up at Marinette just a few inches above her.

“Hey,” Marinette answers, struggling to hold a grin back- she only lasts a few seconds before bursting out laughing and rolling off Chloe, onto the ground. Their transformations fade in a burst of red and green lights and they lay back, catching their breath. “Good thing Kim closed down the bakery early, huh?”

“Huh?” Chloe asks, processing the dark store. “Oh my god, that would’ve been terrible. Can you imagine everyone’s faces?”

“I know, right,” Marinette gasps, breaking into fresh peals of laughter. She takes a few deep, sobering breaths, trying to calm down, but fails- she turns to Chloe and grins brightly. “I love post-fight adrenaline, it’s just…I feel so alive, you know?”

Chloe thinks of how panicked she was watching projectiles rip into Marinette, tearing open her suit, and how desperate she was on the roof being held back by Luka- but she also thinks of how she felt when she managed to save her and break open the akuma’s armor with a touch.

She thinks of how she feels right now, staring at Marinette next to her, red-faced and beautiful on the ground.

“Yeah, I know,” Chloe says softly. “I feel like I could take on the world.” It feels like it’s now or never- and she hasn’t felt this confident in weeks. She leans in to Marinette, propping herself on her elbows, and closes her eyes as she moves in to kiss her—

Only to be met with Marinette’s cheek.

She snaps her eyes open to see Marinette’s turned her head away, dodging Chloe’s advance, and her face is furiously red.

“Ah,” Chloe says- a little lost for words, to be honest. “I- I’m sorry, I thought that-”

“It’s fine,” Marinette responds, not unkindly. “Just- right after a battle? Feeling this crazy about everything? It’s just not the time to be making moves like this.”

Chloe stares at her carefully, cautiously, trying to read her- after spending so much time just with Marinette, she’d like to think she’s learned to read her at least a little.

“I meant it, though-” She tries to start, but Marinette cuts her off with a shake of her head and a smile.

“If you have something you need to say, wait,” she says knowingly- Chloe wonders in a flash of jealously if this isn’t the first time someone from her team, or the past team, has made a move on her post-battle. No- she knows for a fact the former Chat Noir was half in love with Ladybug, and Marinette never really discouraged it, despite being clearly annoyed. She thinks back to their falling out, and wonders if that was a part of it. “You’ll thank me later.”

Chloe waits a beat, then nods- that wasn’t a no, and she’s more than happy to try again later.

“Let’s get some sleep, then?” she offers instead of protesting- Marinette looks relieved.

Marinette gets to her feet and pulls Chloe up with her, leading her up the stairs of the bakery to where she must have lived as a teenager. “Let’s. I’ll make up the bed for you. It’ll be like a sleepover!”

“Sounds like a blast,” Chloe responds fondly- even if things don’t end up working out romantically, she’s relieved to know they’ll still have a close friendship to fall back on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first week of classes over! tbh... i'm proud of myself for not procrastinating on things thus far :)
> 
> here's another chapter! almost done with the story!! i wonder what's gonna happen next (lol) 
> 
> comments/kudos are always appreciated :) and i hope everyone is having a great day


	25. fireworks

“I feel that it’s important to reiterate I do not think this is a good use of my miraculous, nor do I condone this as a way to ask someone out.”

“Ugh, Luka, just hand it over,” Chloe groans, holding her hand out for his bracelet. “You already promised you’d do this. I so do not need the warning labels.”

He stares back serenely, hand still firmly clutching his miraculous. “I’m only doing this because I think Marinette ultimately will thank me for this. And what’s the last thing?”

Chloe facepalms and sighs. “I promise not to implicate you if it goes horribly.”

“Atta girl,” he says, finally smiling and handing it over. “Honestly, good luck, Chloe- you’ll need it. Mari hasn’t had a chill day in years.”

Chloe shrugs as he walks away- how hard could asking out a girl that she already lives and fights crime with possibly be?

\---

Marinette walks into their apartment romantically lit by candlelight and filled with beautiful marigolds- a ladybug delicacy, according to Chloe’s research.

Chloe herself stands next to a painstakingly prepared dinner laid out on their table, smiling brilliantly. “Welcome home, Marinette.”

She stares back dubiously – and more than a little confused – and surveys the room. “Uh. This is my house?”

Chloe blinks twice, then frowns. “You’re right, that was a stupid opening line.”

“Huh?”

“Second chance!” Chloe yells.

\---

Marinette walks into their apartment romantically lit by candlelight and filled with beautiful marigolds- a ladybug delicacy, according to Chloe’s research.

“Holy shit, those flowers are on fire!” Marinette shrieks, pointing at the corner of the room- the fire has already moved to her hand-sewn curtains.

“Second chance!”

\---

Marinette walks into their apartment romantically lit by candlelight and filled with beautiful marigolds- a ladybug delicacy, according to Chloe’s research.

“Marinette, it’s great to see- ACHOO!” A loud sneeze interrupts Chloe and she stares horrified at the snot on her sleeve- how could her own body betray her at such a critical moment!

“Second chance!”

\---

Marinette walks into their apartment romantically lit by candlelight and filled with beautiful marigolds- a ladybug delicacy, according to Chloe’s research.

“Wow, this all looks great,” Marinette says, slightly awestruck.

Chloe beams- off to a great start! “Yeah, I called my dad and he-” Marinette bursts into tears and Chloe trails off, horrified. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry,” Marinette manages between sobs, “I just had a bad day at the bakery and was thinking about how my parents, how much I miss them. You- you clearly prepared something really nice, and I’m so sorry I’m messing the whole thing up-”

Well, this is not what Chloe intended.

“Second chance!”

\---

Marinette walks into their apartment romantically lit by candlelight and filled with beautiful marigolds- a ladybug delicacy, according to Chloe’s research.

Chloe’s standing against the wall, decked out in Ladybug-themed lingerie, and Marinette turns bright red, shrieks, then runs out of the apartment.

“What the hell?” Chloe mutters, looking down at herself- she thought this would’ve worked.

“Second chance!”

\---

Marinette walks into their apartment romantically lit by candlelight and filled with beautiful marigolds- a ladybug delicacy, according to Chloe’s research.

“I want to date you!” Chloe bursts out loudly.

Marinette blinks widely and gapes. “Um. What?”

“I would like to go steady!” Chloe reaffirms.

Marinette smiles, then giggles fondly. “You said like you’re in an 80s rom-com, Chlo- are you practicing for something?”

Chloe sighs and looks down- she doesn’t know what she’s doing wrong.

“Second chance!”

\---

Marinette walks into their apartment romantically lit by candlelight and filled with beautiful marigolds- a ladybug delicacy, according to Chloe’s research.

Chloe steps forward, carefully places her hands on each side of Marinette’s face, and softly says, “Can I kiss you?”

Marinette flounders for a moment – Chloe’s about to give up and reset it again – when she finally answers. “Yes,” she says emphatically.

Her eyes widen and she grins, hands still framing Marinette’s face, and kisses her slowly. Marinette stands frozen for a moment – Chloe’s starts to worry that she’s misheard horribly – when she leans into it. Chloe gently moves one hand to cradle Marinette’s neck and the other to grip her hip, kicking the door shut next to them, then pressing Marinette up against the wall.

Chloe opens her mouth to deepen the kiss, and Marinette groans, letting Chloe support her weight.

Marinette’s akuma alarm goes off in her pocket and she moves to pull it out, but Chloe grabs her wrist. “It can wait,” she murmurs, moving to kiss Marinette’s neck.

“B-but,” Marinette breathes, but is silenced when Chloe softly kisses a bruise on her collarbone. “Ooh,” she says, eyes sliding shut. “I- I see your point.”

Chloe pulls away finally, smiling and resting her forehead against Marinette’s. “I cannot believe this is what finally worked.”

“Huh?” Marinette asks, cocking her head. “What do you mean finally-”

Her akuma alert goes off again, interrupting them, and this time Marinette goes straight towards it, the color draining from her face as soon as she sees it. The mood shift is jarring.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe asks warily – guiltily – and Marinette drops her phone.

“S-stay here, okay? The rest know to meet you here. I’ll be alright, don’t worry- Luka and I have a plan with the snake miraculous in a time like this,” she says, running a hand her hair anxiously. “Be careful. Paris is on lockdown- Hawkmoth’s making his move.”

“I’ll come with you-” Chloe starts and Marinette shakes her head.

She walks to her bedroom, starting to hurry, and Chloe follows. “He’s challenged me directly. He- his akuma took hostages. They have Ryuko.” She rifles through her miraculous box, quickly, pulling on the fox necklace and turtle bracelet, then turns back to face Chloe. “I have to go out there now. Chloe- I’m sorry I have to leave right now.”

“It’s okay,” Chloe says, holding Marinette’s hand tightly. “You’d better come back to me.”

Marinette smiles, tearily, and hugs Chloe tightly. “I’ll do my best.” She transforms, all three at once, then jumps out the balcony window alone.

Chloe heads towards the door, ready to find shelter, when she looks down and sees the snake bracelet still hidden under her sleeve. “Oh, shit,” she mutters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like this chapter a lot! the repeating scenes were fun to watch and come up with :)
> 
> and the miraculous drama is reaching the endgame!! should be hype
> 
> have a great day


	26. secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi there's a fight this chapter between marinette and hawkmoth and co.
> 
> she gets beat up for a bit
> 
> nothing super graphic i think, just figured i should warn

Chloe’s wearing through the carpet by the window Marinette left through when she hears the door knock- she rushes over, wringing her hands anxiously, and throws it open.

“Marinette?” She asks hopefully.

Kim eyes her dubiously, then steps aside to let Max in. “Not quite, Bourgeois. You’re still staying here?”

Chloe bristles, feeling suddenly defensive. “Marinette hasn’t mentioned me?”

“She has not,” Max answers, walking through the apartment and looking through their things- mainly Chloe’s since he’s still in the living room space. “Did she leave any instructions for us?”

“No- and wait, why are you guys here anyways?” Chloe asks, bristling. The timing of their arrival, right when Marinette is stuck fighting Hawkmoth alone, is more than a little suspicious, and she’s not sure why these two would come here-

Kim laughs boisterously, shutting the door behind him. “Uh, I’m King Monkey and Max is Pegasus. We assumed you’d know?”

“Considering that you are the new Black Cat holder and all,” Max tacks on unhelpfully. Chloe sputters – she honestly probably should’ve figured out at least Kim’s identity by now, especially since Marinette warned the other holders would be coming by – and he finally looks up from his search. “She really didn’t leave anything for us?”

“Uh, no,” Chloe says, a little dumbly- she needs to tell Marinette to keep her more in the loop, moving forwards; being this constantly caught off guard is not a welcome feeling. “She just said Hawkmoth insisted on fighting alone, and to stay here.”

Max sighs, annoyed, and grabs the TV remote from beside the couch. “Well, you’ve done a great job of doing nothing. I’m going to turn on the news.”

He goes to turn it on – Chloe feels a rush of embarrassment, she knows the last channel up was one of her favorite trashy reality shows – but instead the channel is overridden by a large emergency news banner across the top of the TV. Ladybug and Hawkmoth’s stand-off is front and center- Ryuko’s strung up by some trapeze-themed akuma and is doubly guarded by Mayura and her latest sentimonster.

The odds don’t look good. It’s not a fair fight.

The three of them cease bickering to look closer at the screen, trying to make out as much detail as they can- Ryuko appears to be unresponsive and her guards seem to be content with waiting out the fight. More pressingly, Ladybug’s taken some heavy damage, even with the extra armor from the turtle- she’s already moving slower when Hawkmoth attacks and she’s visibly favoring her left side. It looks like she’s already used her illusion power and the timer’s run out from the fox.

“That doesn’t look good,” Kim says anxiously, plopping down in front of the TV and frowning at it. “She needs back-up.”

Chloe bites her lip and winces as they watch Hawkmoth’s cane connect with Marinette, throwing her back against a nearby building- she dents it on impact, and takes a few seconds to stagger back to her feet. “She told me not to do anything-”

“And we need to trust her with that,” Max interjects calmly. “I’m sure a threat was made to Ryuko or Paris, to get her to come alone- what I don’t understand is why Luka hasn’t intervened. She shouldn’t be this hurt if he’s doing his job.”

Chloe flushes red and clears her throat. “Ah- about that,” she says, holding up the bracelet nervously. “I kind of have his miraculous?”

Max stares at her, disbelieving, and Kim groans loudly. “You can’t be serious,” Kim offers weakly. “Please tell me that’s a joke? Like, a really terrible one in poor taste, but still a joke?”

“No? I didn’t have anyone’s number on the team, alright, and I didn’t have time to mention it before Marinette left!” Chloe says defensively, then sighs and sits next to Kim, feeling weak. “We can contact him now, right? And he can go in and fix things?”

“Not quite,” Max says bluntly. “He can only restart at fixed points in a fight, and he has to be present for them. He could help her going forward, but there’s no fixing whatever the damage already done.”

“Correct,” a new voice intones, and the three of them turn around in panic.

“What the hell, man, you scared us!” Kim yells at Luka. “Like- knock or something, next time!”

“Yeah, and since when do you have a key?” Chloe yelps, calming her racing breaths.

Luka shrugs and moves to the floor, joining them- he takes back his miraculous from Chloe immediately. “Sorry,” is all he offers.

Max shakes his head and leans against the wall, pushing his glasses up his nose. “You can go help her now, correct? If you go out there, the rest of us might be able to join safely, as well.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not thinking that will work.” Luka moves closer to the TV, and points out the trapeze-akuma, who’s apparently started moving around slowly since they last saw. “See how they’re moving around on that trapeze above everything else? I’m pretty sure they’ve set up some kind of warning system- if any of us tries to break the perimeter, they’ll know immediately.”

“So? We go in and break past it, what are they gonna do then?” Kim asks, confused.

Max studies the screen, then gasps. “Oh. Ryuko’s tied up to all that?”

“Exactly,” Luka affirms. “There’s some kind of trap. And even if it’s not what it looks like, Mayura and her sentimonster are in position to attack her immediately, if there’s any disturbance. I can’t help Mari if I can’t get to her, and we missed our chance to do that.”

Kim and Max’s accusing eyes slide to Chloe and she inhales, shakily. “Is- do you think she’ll be alright?” Her voice is soft and trembly, and Luka smiles reassuringly.

“She’s strong. We’ve just got to keep watching and supporting her.”

Chloe’s breathing is starting to speed up, and Luka reaches out and takes her hand. Kim scoots closer and swings his arm around her shoulders, a comforting weight. Max – reluctantly, but still willingly – grabs a large blanket off the couch and joins them on the ground, throwing it over the three of them.

“Thank you,” she mutters, finally relaxing a little, and none of them need to say anything else.

They turn their focus back to the TV- the video is shaky, but clear. Marinette’s strategy seems to have moved from defensive to offensive, at least, letting her drive back Hawkmoth towards some unseen goal.

She beats down on him harshly, not letting up even when he lands a hit of his own, and she finally strikes him across the face, knocking him into a metal pole- she ties him to it quickly, with her yo-yo, then turns to Ryuko, just a little way down the street.

Mayura and the akuma stare back, unfazed.

Without looking back, Marinette sprints, weaponless, towards them- the sentimonster plummets from their perch on the overhead wires and impacts, shaking the ground. Marinette stumbles back for just a moment, then tackles it, ripping out something from its insides – its Amok, Chloe guesses – and crumbles it in her fist. Mayura shrieks and leaps down to avenge her fallen monster, knocking Marinette down and knocking her across the pavement. They stay on the ground, exchanging blows, until they see a flash of violet light and Mayura’s transformation fades, leaving her unconscious on the ground- the news camera is too far to make out any other details.

Marinette climbs to her feet, slowly but surely, and keeps moving towards Ryuko- she finally makes it and unties her quickly, painfully tearing through the wires holding her. Ryuko slumps forwards and Marinette grabs her, supporting her and helping her slowly to the ground. She uses the turtle to cast a protective bubble around her friend, then slowly backs away, searching the area for something.

Chloe realizes with a sinking feeling that the trapeze-akuma is no longer visible in the background.

Hawkmoth appears behind her – Marinette’s yo-yo is held by the grinning akuma – and he yanks her to feet by her shoulder, pulling her away from Ryuko. They watch her try to get out of his grip, kicking wildly, but then he pulls out his cane and they see something gleaming silver from the end of it.

“Oh god,” Chloe whispers as they all slowly realize it’s a blade.

He slices it through her leg and then drops her. The news broadcaster picks up her raw scream. Hawkmoth kicks her in the stomach, hard, and she rolls.

“Get up,” Kim says, quieter than Chloe’s ever heard him. “Come on, Mari, get up.”

She doesn’t, and Hawkmoth keeps kicking her.

“He’s breaking her bones,” Luka realizes, voice solemn. “Why isn’t he just taking her miraculous?”

“He wants her to give it up,” Max states. “He’s making her seem human, and weak. He knows the city’s watching.”

The camera zooms in on Marinette’s face, and – albeit blurry – they see her cough up blood. Her suit’s in tatters. She’s lying in a pool of her own blood. The turtle power times out, and her armor disappears.

“Her healing factor will take care of that, right?” Kim asks, and no one answers.

He keeps kicking her and Chloe’s shaking apart, watching it- she doesn’t know how many more hits Marinette can take, and she knows Marinette will never offer up her own miraculous.

Chloe averts her eyes, unable to watch, until she hears Luka gasp next to her. She looks up, and sees that Ryuko’s gotten to her feet- the camera’s zoomed out to take in the entire street view once again. The akuma is lying unconscious, the ground charred beneath them, and they watch Ryuko launch a massive lightning bolt towards Hawkmoth.

It impacts and surges through him into his cane, jolting Marinette as well- but it damaged him more, and he falls to his knees. Ryuko picks up the yo-yo and brings it over, handing it gently to Marinette before pulling the still-incapacitated Hawkmoth into an arm-hold behind his back. She waits, uncharacteristically patiently, for Marinette to stumble to her feet- she goes and purifies both the sentimonster’s Amok and the akuma’s item before slowly walking back over.

Marinette stands in front of Hawkmoth, swaying but strong, and yanks his brooch off his shirt.

His transformation disappears in a surge of lavender light, and the camera zooms to reveal his face- the four of them freeze as they realize it’s Gabriel Agreste.

Marinette casts her cure and then she and Ryuko – leaving Gabriel and the still unknown Mayura – disappear into a side alley.

The news broadcast ends.

“Poor Adrien,” Chloe states numbly.

“Holy-” Luka trails off, as Chloe’s reality TV starts playing- Max turns it off.

Kim fills the silence. “She won!” He bellows, dislodging Chloe from his side and whooping. “She beat him!”

The rest of them stay frozen, still stunned.

“What next?” Luka asks quietly.

Chloe shakes her head, uncertain, and Max turns to them. “We wait for her to get back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloe: i want to be kept in the loop!
> 
> also Chloe: literally still doesn't know anyone's identities until they're spelled out for her, no one tells her who ryuko is throughout the entire fight
> 
> hope the fight scene makes sense! and yayyy no more hawkmoth


	27. silence

Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste.

Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.

Those words echo through Chloe’s ears, through all of Paris as they sit in Marinette’s apartment in stunned silence. The gathered holders – Chloe, Luka, Max, Kim – wait quietly for Marinette and Kagami to make their way home. No one is sure what to say- it’s surreal, knowing he’s defeated, after this many years at war.

No one knows what will come next.

The door swings open and they see Kagami carrying an unconscious, broken Marinette inside- Chloe guesses she passed out as soon as her transformation ran out. Based on the shock on Max and Kim’s faces, she had not told the whole team that she couldn’t heal herself.

Luka rushes over to help lay her down on the floor- Chloe directs them to the bathroom instead, telling them that’s where Marinette usually tends to her wounds after fights. She watches Kagami cut through Marinette’s clothes with surgical precision, revealing the barrage of painful bruises and cuts littering her body- and the really bad one, the wound Chloe thought would take off her leg at the thigh.

All Chloe can think is how the time they had – living together the last few weeks, getting to kiss her just once – was not enough.

But Marinette is breathing, and Luka is bandaging her wounds while Kagami holds her steady, and it’s going to be okay.

It has to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> week 2 of classes begins !! time to be productive
> 
> enjoy and have a nice day y'all!


	28. coming home

Marinette’s healing is accelerated, turning the months her caliber of injuries would normally take into days- Chloe would like to think her undertaking of the black cat has helped things, even if she hadn’t been at the fight.

The next few days are still excruciating.

Kim’s keeping the bakery in order, warding off questions about when she’ll return, and Max, Luka, and Kagami had to return to their jobs after helping take fix the worst of Marinette’s wounds. Chloe’s the only one available to make sure her bones are setting correctly, that her cuts are sealing properly.

It’s the third day, and she’s can't think of the last time she was this stressed for this long.

Most of her time is spent keeping Marinette company while she dozes intermittently and restocking the ice and pain meds- thank god that Marinette apparently kept some intense painkillers stocked in the medicine cabinet or this week would be going a lot worse.

Both of them are surviving solely on water and take-out, and they haven’t seen anyone since the rest of the team left, so Chloe’s surprised when she hears the doorbell ring.

Marinette’s still passed out on the bed – Tikki promises that extra sleep helps the healing process, but Chloe’s still a little worried about how long her naps are getting – and Chloe quietly extracts herself from Marinette’s arms to open the door.

“Surprise!” Three voices call in unison, and Chloe steps back in surprise.

Luka barges in, carrying a stack of pre-assembled lasagnas, while Juleka drags in two bags full of health drinks and fresh fruit.

Rose pulls Chloe into a hug, then steps in as well, smiling widely. “Luka told us about Marinette’s fall and how you’re taking care of her, so we thought we’d help as much as we could!”

“Oh, I-” Chloe says, a little overwhelmed, but Rose keeps talking.

“Hush- this is the least we could do!” She pulls out a stack of cooking instructions and lays them out on the kitchen counter for Chloe to see. “All of the food just needs to be heated up and the drinks should be kept refrigerated. Let us know if you have any questions!”

“Let us know when Marinette is doing better,” Juleka adds quietly, already escorting Rose back outside.

“We’ll leave you two alone to recover,” Luka tacks on, smiling kindly at Chloe as he follows them out the door. “The team would love to come by and get officially introduced to the new member, whenever it’s a good time.”

With that, they’re gone as abruptly as they came. Chloe goes to heat up the lasagna, staying quiet to let Marinette rest a little longer, and smiles at the door.

It’s a little overwhelming to realize she’s earned friends who are good enough to drop everything and spend hours doing an unasked favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aw chloe's made friends! this fic had a plot...but it's main point has always been chloe's growth in both her friendships and with marinette :)
> 
> good for her tbh


	29. snowmen

“Max told me he’s been spending time with you, getting to know you better,” Sabrina states carefully, then sips her coffee, filled with tiny seasonal marshmallow snowmen- there’s no judgment in her tone, though Chloe can sense the silent question.

She decides not to hedge around the answer. “I’m not sleeping with him, you know.”

“I, uh, wasn’t accusing you of that,” she says, turning red in surprise.

“Sure,” Chloe allows, leaning back in her chair- Sabrina already moved her seat back as far as she can go, even before Chloe arrived at the coffee shop, what’s another inch?

Sabrina frowns at that and takes a deep breath- it’s clear that whatever she came here to say, it’s not going to be kind.

“You-,” she clenches her fists around her mug and grits her teeth, and Chloe steels herself. “You aren’t a good person. You were cruel to me. You took advantage of the people around you for years, and you disposed of us when you didn’t need us anymore.” She pauses, and Chloe just stares at her with a sinking feeling in her gut- it’s all true. She can’t deny it now. “And yet- Max tells me you’re a good friend. That you’ve started dating Marinette, who’s probably the nicest person either of us know.”

“That’s all true,” Chloe answers when it’s clear Sabrina’s waiting for her to continue. “I was a horrible person for a really long time, and I’m trying to be better, but that doesn’t make up for what I’ve done.”

Sabrina sighs and looks down. “My question is: if you could make all this effort now, become the kind of person who can not only be in a good relationship, but be in one with Marinette; then why couldn’t you ever do that for me?”

Chloe doesn’t know what to say- she’s not sure she has the right to say anything now. She clears her throat weakly, and she tries to speak- her voice is catching in her throat but she pushes forward. “I’m sorry,” is all she manages.

Sabrina looks back up at her- there’s something resigned, but not defeated, in her eyes. “Thank you,” she says, picking up her bag and dropping a few bucks onto the table to pay for her drink. She heads out the door without saying goodbye and Chloe buries her head in her hands, taking a deep breath.

Sometimes, despite her best efforts, there’s just no fixing the damage done in the past. Sabrina had been a good friend, much better than she’d deserved during her worst years, and she’s grateful for how long Sabrina stuck with her.

She hopes her friend got the closure she needed.

Chloe gathers the scattered bills from Sabrina and raises her hand to signal the wait staff. “Check, please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes, the prompt and the chapter are a bit of a stretch- and sometimes i straight up just write the prompt word in and call it good
> 
> i had a plan for how to fit snowmen in very naturally, wrote it, looked at it the next day, and decided damn that's dumb
> 
> so here's this :) enjoy and have a lovely day!!!


	30. stars

Being the new Black Cat makes Chloe feel invulnerable, invincible, untouchable- she’s spent more than a few nights already, joining Marinette on runs across the rooftops of Paris. She swears she’s won at least a few races, though Marinette still won’t admit it.

Tonight, they’re racing towards the Eiffel Tower, practically blurs moving above everything, and Chloe’s breathless.

She arrives gracefully – or tumbles straight on of the tower’s supports, depending on who you ask – before using her pole to rocket straight to the top.

Marinette’s sitting there, in full Ladybug costume, a picnic basket set out on the ledge next to her.

“You took your sweet time getting here,” she says, smirking playfully at Chloe.

“Oh, shut up,” Chloe fires back without a hint of actual anger in her voice. “What do you have there?”

She lifts it’s cover- Chloe’s hit with the warm smell of freshly-baked cookies and sugary meringues.

“Those look amazing. When did you find the time to bake all of these?”

Marinette shrugs sheepishly and shifts so she’s straddling the ledge more securely. “Ah, about that-” She’s cut off by her yoyo beeping and her transformation fades in a rush of red light. “-I didn’t. Used up my Lucky Charm for it. I’m pretty sure Tikki threw in the meringues just for herself, naturally.”

“Naturally,” Chloe agrees, eyeing Marinette’s precarious balance- strong as Ladybug is, Marinette is barely above clumsy at the best of times.

They quietly for a few moments, Tikki sneaking into the basket while they stargaze.

“It’s beautiful,” Marinette says suddenly, staring up at the sky.

Chloe stares at her, smiling softly. “It is.”

Marinette turns – meets her gaze – and turns red. “I- uh, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I figured.”

“You asked me out, before everything went down-” She breaks off and her chin trembles. Chloe reaches out to take her hand, and she continues. “-and I felt like we left things…rather unresolved.”

Chloe starts to grin, doing her best to bite back any overt reaction, but she doesn’t think she’s doing a particularly good job. “I remember us leaving things on a rather nice note.”

She huffs, exasperated, but holds onto Chloe’s hand regardless. “Yes, well, we haven’t exactly talked about it since then.”

“You’ve been recovering-”

“I’ve been waiting for you to make a move.” Marinette throws her free hand up in the air and laughs. “You’ve been very respectful…but I wanted to talk to you about why you kissed me.”

“Ah,” Chloe realizes, a little embarrassed. “I never got that far in my speech, did I?”

“You wrote a speech?” Marinette’s face lights up. “That’s adorable.”

Chloe huffs and tries to pull her hand back- Marinette doesn’t let her. “If I had gotten the chance to continue, I would’ve asked you a few more things.”

“Oh yeah?” Marinette asks, suddenly breathless.

“For starters, I think I would’ve asked if you’d like to go out on a date with me.”

Marinette leans forward, something mischievous in her face. “That all?”

“It’s the most important thing.” Chloe retorts, grinning despite her harsh tone.

Marinette moves closer till their foreheads are touching, and Chloe moves in so they kiss gently. They separate after a moment and sit together, breathing slowly.

“Seems a bit backwards, doesn’t it?” Marinette offers after a moment. “You moved in with me, next we kiss, and now, you’re taking me on a date.”

“It’s going to be the best date ever,” Chloe says, pulling Marinette forwards on the ledge, into a hug. “We’re going to go to a nice restaurant – eat something that’s not baked goods – and then go on a long walk in the snow for you, then come back inside and get toasty for me.” Marinette laughs, smiling wide, and Chloe continues. “Then we’ll watch a fun movie, and we’ll get some sleep together-”

“That’s a little presumptuous of you, isn’t it?” Marinette asks. “Best to make sure the date goes well before you plan for us to sleep together.”

Chloe pulls her in for another kiss and thinks – if it’s the two of them, it’ll go perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one chapter left! here's all of the fluff now :) 
> 
> some notes: chloe is using her inheritance to help with the bakery and is working there now (financially mostly, running numbers for it); also, they have officially moved in together and chloe's no longer on the couch
> 
> another note: they're still patrolling and using the miraculous, in case something does come up, but for the most part it's like a giant break for them all -- they're just chillin with powers and training together for funsies!
> 
> that was supposed to be included in this chapter but it was not working for me...so i'm adding it here :)


	31. scarf

“Look, it’s snowing again!” Marinette calls from her window, staring out into the dimly light night outside.

Chloe walks over and joins her, immediately shivering at how cold it’s getting. “Yeah, it’s Paris in winter, it tends to do that.”

“No, but it’s all fresh now,” she says, turning to smile brightly at Chloe. “The old snow got all muddy, we’ve got to take advantage of this while we still can!” She pushes past Chloe, picking up a jacket and gloves, before pausing at the door. “You’re coming too, right?” She asks over her shoulder before racing out of the apartment.

Chloe groans loudly to the empty room before quickly gathering up her heavy coat, hat, gloves, and scarf. “I guess so,” she mutters to herself, begrudgingly fond despite herself.

She makes her way down the stairs and out the door of the apartment complex, then is immediately blasted in the face by a rush of freezing wind and a snowball to the face.

“AGH!” She brushes snow off her face – her now very cold and very wet face, thank you very much – and glowers at Marinette, who’s doubled over laughing in the snow. “This. Was. Not. Funny.” She says slowly, hoping her expression of immense distaste gets the point across effectively.

Marinette’s words are broken up for a different reason. “I- I have to disagree on that one, Chlo,” she says between wheezes.

She could pretend to find it a little less funny, Chloe’s certain.

“Hey, no, don’t be upset,” Marinette steps closer and sobers up a little. “I’m sorry, did I throw it too hard? I didn’t mean to…”

Chloe sighs, deeply, long-sufferingly, and moves into Marinette’s offered embrace. “No, it’s fine. I was just surprised.” She pauses, letting Marinette rub her arms and warm her up a little, then frowns again. “I am still cold though. My face is still cold.”

Marinette giggles – Chloe blushes and immediately regrets it – and she pulls Chloe in by her scarf. “Let me warm you up, then?”

“And how exactly are you going to do that?” Chloe asks breathlessly, going a little cross-eyed staring at Marinette. She knew the scarf was going to be a good idea- she’ll be sure to leave the store a 5-star review for its unexpected multipurpose usage.

Marinette leans in and kisses the top of Chloe’s nose, then grabs ahold of her scarf again to drag her inside. “I think we’ve seen all the snow has to offer. Let’s head back inside, to our apartment.”

Chloe follows, beaming even though her toes are freezing and her face feels flushed and she’s literally being pulled around by her clothing—

“Yeah, let’s go back inside.”

(She never thought it’d feel so good to share something).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chapter !!!!! hopefully things are left at a nice note and y'all feel things are resolved :) if you comment w/questions abt it i'll be sure to answer them for the next few days
> 
> tbh i did not really ship chloenette a ton before this fic (hopefully the relationship dynamic/characterization was still solid lol) but writing this fic made me love it...so i'll probably write some more when i get the chance! they're so cute together
> 
> i hope y'all enjoyed this! i don't write a lot of fluffy relationship things so this was a bit of an experiment and i think it worked out okay
> 
> have a great day :) enjoy!!


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